Monthly Archives: January 2015

Kirsten B. Feldman’s On the Way to Everywhere is the latest Goodreads giveaway novel that I read. Here is the extended review.

On the Way to Everywhere
By Kirsten B. Feldman
Published by CreateSpace Publishing, 2014
ISBN: 978-1501029653

Harry Kavanaugh is the tall red-haired, dread-locked protagonist of this snarky coming-of-age novel. While she is officially named Henrietta, she has always gone by her nickname, Harry like the magical character, Harry Potter. She feels anything but (magical) as she spends her days at an elite all-girls school in Maryland on the outskirts of Washington D.C.

Feeling she doesn’t fit in Barfmore, her own name for the eating disorder-ridden school Boltmore, Harry decides she wants out, out of the stifling atmosphere of this school with the cliques of rich girls like her half-sister Felicity. It could be said that Harry is the antithesis of Felicity. Harry decides she’d rather go to the local public high school like her best friend William. She has it all planned out, too. Her plan is simple: flunk out! By not doing the work in her classes from Algebra I to health to physical education, and as her detentions and pink slips mount, she may just achieve her wish.

That is until she meets Frannie, her new best friend, and discovers running. Frannie, short for Frances Bean (the same as Kurt Cobain’s daughter because Harry is a devoted Kurt Cobain fan), is adopted by Harry, or perhaps it is the other way around (Frannie really adopts Harry). Frannie is a dog, but not just a dog. She’s a dog that rivals Harry in size so that it’s a perfect match.

Once Harry discovers running because of her sudden involvement in cross country (her physical education requirement), there is a slow turnaround in her attitude. She spends more and more time running, sometimes on the local indoor track, but mostly with Frannie through the hills and valleys of Boltmore.

Along the way, Harry discovers some of her classes are not too bad, and in fact downright enjoyable; she slowly makes some new friends, too, as she tries to battle back from the brink of her intentional sabotage. Her brother Jeremy gives her some incentive as does William, who becomes her math tutor. Even her mother Imogene Gayle becomes more nurturing and supportive. But, at this late date, can Harry reverse the process she started? Can she dig herself out of this deep hole she’s purposely created?

Told from Harry’s (often internal) perspective, her story is full of snarkiness and black humor. She invites the reader to come along as she pokes fun at her classmates, at her mother, and, mostly, at herself. It is a realistic, if snarky, peek into an elite high school from an iconoclastic student, who really has brains and talents if only she will allow herself to show them. Harry is unique and abrasive, but ultimately truly likeable as she transforms herself on the road to everywhere.

Overall, this is a fun read especially with the unexpected twist. The novel contains very few, if any, of the ubiquitous What-the-tuck trends, too. This is the second novel by this author and I look forward in the near future to checking out her first one, No Alligators in Sight.

David Bell’s The Forgotten Girl was the most recent Advanced Reader Copy that I received and read. I received it through a Goodreads giveaway. This is Bell’s fourth novel, but it’s the first one that I have had the privilege of reading. Here’s the extended review.

The Forgotten Girl
By David Bell
Published by the New American Library, 2014
A division of Penguin
ISBN: 978-0-451-41752-7

In this gripping suspense-thriller from David Bell, the past and present collide. Jason Danver’s best friend, Logan, disappeared on the night of their high school graduation. After an argument and a brief fistfight with Logan, Jason never sees him again as Jason heads off to college.

Years later, he and his wife return to the community where Jason grew up. While reconnecting with old friends, stories and theories about Logan’s whereabouts surface. Soon, his sister Hayden, with seventeen-year-old daughter Sierra in tow, returns to town after a long hiatus. Formerly the girl with drug and alcohol addiction problems and wild friends (read: wild-child party girl), Hayden now claims to have turned her life around and is now clean and sober; however, she needs a big favor from Jason and his wife Nora. She wishes to leave Sierra with them for a few days. Despite his distrust of her, based on past experiences, he and Nora agree to her request.

Claiming she has something to clear up for her continued recovery, Hayden says, “Thanks, big brother. Forty-eight hours at the most. Forty-eight. Then I’ll be back for my girl.” Yet, Hayden doesn’t return. Her car, though, is found abandoned near the site of all those oh-so-long-ago high school parties. Then a body is found.

While the police search for Hayden, Jason does a bit of investigating on his own. His questions provide only more questions as well as threats against him and his family. He wonders if there is a connection between these two disappearances. Is there a link to the past? Was Hayden involved with Logan long ago?

As Jason deepens his search for his sister and the links of the past with the present, he discovers how little he actually knows his sister, his friend, and the past. The story follows his path as he investigates, and his discoveries give rise to the fact that not everything is always as it appears on the surface.

With all the twists and turns, this is a wonderfully complex suspense-thriller. Surprises are found around every corner, and some secrets stay buried for years (and perhaps should stay buried). Having enjoyed this one thoroughly, this reader will be re-visiting the other novels by this author. Further, this reader suggests checking this one out.

Every so often I am fortunate to get a recently published book directly from an author (and is not related to a Shelf Awareness or Goodreads giveaway). That was the case with the novel, Reign of the Black Flame: The Waterglobe, by B.B Vayk. Denise Lo Cicéro, a good friend of mine, and I got into a discussion about her glowing review of this book, (which, by the way, she had won as a Goodreads giveaway, but I digress). Long story short, the author entered the conversation and offered a copy to me. Thus, this extended review.

Reign of the Black Flame: The Waterglobe
By B.B. Vayk
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-49964-050-2

B.B. Vayk’s Reign of the Black Flame: The Waterglobe is a fantasy, and a well-written one at that. It is the first in a trilogy, but the story is complete as is. Not since reading J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has this reader found a fantasy world that is so fully formed, complex, and complete. Having compared this to Rowling’s works, this story is not a knock-off or clone, though. It stands on its own merit. This world of Vayk’s imagining is so descriptive and clever that the reader can see it all. The language to describe the various creatures in the different realms is so creative and is one of the joys of this story. The descriptions of the places are just as rich. The cover artwork is fantastic, yet doesn’t do justice to the story within.

The story takes place on earth as well as various realms of the Forces of Nature. Briefly, the Realm of Fire, ruled by the evil lord, Fire, hates Water and steals the Waterglobe in order to become the ultimate ruler. By stealing the relic, the world is becoming drought-stricken and the equilibrium between the Forces is lost.

Into this battle of Fire and Water come George Ground and his son Robert. Known only in their village as the two who grow impressive roses, George is making a name for himself and unwittingly attracts the attention of Fire himself. Fire appears in the village, battles, and then kills George, who is protecting his son. Fire also destroys the roses. Green-eyed Robert, now an orphan, vows to find out more about how and why his parents died at the hands of Fire so he leaves the village, heading toward the realms of the Forces of Nature. Along the way, he encounters Marian, a fireling sent to kill him, a fermad named Gider, who is a vicious, but slow-witted creature, and a rainsteed named Shine. They form an unlikely partnership, but it is this group that continues as the Cloud Queen promises answers to Robert’s questions if he can reclaim the Waterglobe from Fire.

Thus, the quest begins. As the quartet of Robert, Marian, Gider, and Shine journey together, there are challenges to be met, perilous realms to be explored, powerful weapons gathered, and fierce battles to be fought before Ground can recover the Waterglobe and get the answers he seeks about his parents.

Rather than provide any more spoilers (and most of this can be ascertained from the blurb on the back cover), a few things add to the fun of this fantasy include Gider’s language skills and many of the names of the creatures themselves (for example, Fire’s children are called Spark, Flame, and Flash).

The few typos and proofreading errors are easily overlooked as the story is so compelling. Overall, this is a fantasy world worth entering, and the novel is a highly recommended read for any who love to read the fantasy genre. Personally, I can’t wait for the next installment.

This pedometer geek has been fortunate to receive quite a few Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) from Goodreads and/or Shelf Awareness giveaways in the past year or so. Because of this, I feel compelled to read each book and review it in more than a cursory fashion and in a timely manner. Thus, this review site was created.

I must admit that the first ones I received through giveaways, I didn’t review them quite as extensively as now. I wish now that I had, but because of the time involved to re-read each one, I probably won’t. All of them were read, reviewed, and labeled as first reads on my Goodreads account, though. Many of the books are written by authors that I have never read before; some were published by independent presses; some were self-published, and some were published the traditional way.

This brings me to the latest ARC read, which is Maid to Order by Judy Kentrus. While it is the second book in this series, it wasn’t necessary to have read the first. However, I already have an e-book copy of the first one, Elusive Obsession, on my Kindle.

Maid to Order
By Judy Kentrus
Published by Lady K Publishing, 2014
ISBN: 9781500433567

The premise behind this contemporary romance is a joke that backfires, but still blossoms into romance. As the story opens, Alexis Snow, the owner of Mary Maids cleaning service, is filling in for sick employees one evening. As she cleans an office, she spies a personal ad on the man’s desk. The ad: Wanted: Wife, little or no experience. Willing to pay $ 20,000. Send all inquiries to R. Long, c/o this newspaper.

Unfortunately for her, she has been working all night long and decides to rest her eyes for just a few minutes. A few minutes turn into more, and when she awakens, it is to a bellowing Russell, who is angry about his friend’s joke. What is more his outer office is filled with women who wish to apply for the job (Hey, the money is good!). Being in the wrong place at the right time (or vice versa), in order to protect her business, the disheveled, dirty Alexis gets blackmailed into agreeing to be his fiancée to clear his office of women.

What Russell doesn’t realize is that Alexis used to be a fashion model until a scandal ruined her career. By putting her in this position, the press broadcasts their “alleged engagement” and draws attention to her scandalous past as supermodel Athena.

Over time, a romance blossoms between Alexis and Russell, if somewhat reluctantly on Alexia’s part, and what began as a joke is anything but. However, because of the exposure of her past modeling career, there is someone, who is targeting her once again. Moreover, someone is trying to destroy her business, her home, and her family. Romance and suspense go hand in hand as Alexis, Russell, her brother Michael, and Russell’s friends try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The novel is full of wonderful characters and realistic, delightful dialog. Of particular note are the two young six-year-old girls known as Trouble and Double Trouble. Like many young children, they often misunderstand and thus misrepresent what they overhear in adult conversation, and this adds to the humor and lightheartedness of the romantic suspense tale.

Not all the What-the-tuck trends are seen in this novel, but a few that were noted include several green-eyed characters like Alexis and Billy as well as the extremely wealthy Russell. On the other hand, a few unique things seen in the story were the single white roses Russell gave his ‘Cinderella’ throughout and the bumblebee hair clip Alexis wore. All in all, this pedometer geek enjoyed this read and plans on reading its predecessor in 2015.